Saturday, June 22, 2013

A Note to the 2013 Riders - Today's gathering at Vanguard...First Day Together

(This is my note to the C2C cyclists as they gather at the point
   of origin in L.A. in preparation for the start of 2013 C2C ride).

Good evening Cyclists: 
It's 6:15 here on the east coast so at this point you are all probably arriving at Vanguard,
or getting settled in, checking to be sure your bike & gear is all in one piece and nothing
that you need has disappeared into the blue.

I suspect that even if you have ridden before, you are probably experiencing the excitement/nerves
that accompany all major endeavors.  For those who haven't ridden, I still maintain that nothing anyone tells you will fully inform you as to what you are about to participate in....

I see that the tire dipping will take place tomorrow and the actual start of the ride will start Monday.
Had I been riding from Cali - I would probably have appreciated the fact these two events are being
separated by a day's time.  The tire dipping has it's own sacred flavor....joining with your fellow sojourners to mark the start of this endeavor should be given time to soak it in...so to speak.

After the tire dipping in '08 we took off immediately for the road with barely time to say hi to those who came and saw us off.  New friends, the Foster Family - came to bid me adieu and I was soooo grateful that they took the time to see me off.  With family and friends here in the east, I thought I would be the only one marking my participating in the momentous event.  Jessica, Rob, Mikey and Kev opened their home to me so that I could arrive in Seattle  a full week before the start of the tour so I could adjust to the time change, get myself ready and just have time to get organized (a task I'm still working on..lol) before we left.  This was one of the unexpected side benefits of joining with the greater community to do God's work.

At any rate, before I was 1/2 mile down the road from our starting place, my bike started doing weird things.  It wouldn't move forward.  With barely 5 minutes into the ride I was already in trouble and seriously wondering what I had gotten myself into.  Thanks to the support and guidance of far more experienced riders I made it through the first day, the second, the tenth, and so on.  I did take a two week break between Colorado and Michigan flying home, resting up,   celebrating our 10th anniversary and getting my groove back in order to complete the ride.  In light of that I want to encourage you to TRUST your instincts as to timing, biking, and riding so that you can do what you set out to do.  At the same time, part of life is reaching beyond our grasp - which is something you've already done by signing up and doing all it took to make it to this point. 

After dinner on that first night we were welcomed by Claire and others and then got to eat some delicious cake - always welcome
at times of celebration.  Trust me - don't pass it up; you will work the calories off in no time.
As Jerry noted, as this day got closer he wished he could be with you from the start of the journey.  I too am finding I wish the same thing but it wasn't meant to be at this time.  However, I will be ready to ride as you all get to Montreal so until then my prayers go with you as you are in the hearts and minds of so many. 

May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship and Communion of the Holy Spirit
be and abide with you from this day forward.

Joanna Tipple

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